Risk of Injury from Concealed Carry

Not what I thought this thread would be when I first clicked it, but it's turned out to be an excellent topic! Thanks!

Like many, in my younger years I tried several carry methods. Some I quickly discovered were somewhat less practical than others. And if it were something looked upon as "cool" in certain circles, that was pretty much synonymous with "downright stupid".

Small of the back...seems comfortable when standing, but that's where it ends. Sitting or riding in a car? Nada. And the very THOUGHT of a fall on my keister or back made me shudder.

Appendix carry? Sorry, I'm not keen on carrying a loaded firearms pointed at my junk...or femoral artery. And sitting doesn't sound comfortable, especially when wearing a seatbelt.

I settled on 4 o'clock, IWB. I prefer IWB for concealability, even though OWB would be more comfortable. I prefer that position because it's easy to reach and is pretty comfortable in most sitting positions. In the car, it fits comfortably in that spot between the body/seat back/seatbelt buckle. Falling on it in this position at least has the benefit of being on a meaty portion of the body as opposed to a bony spot.

A shoulder holster, at least one that's well made, is pretty comfortable too and offers many advantages over a belt holster, such as being much more accessible while strapped in with a seatbelt. Cross drawing has some safety issues, though.

And yes, the holster construction does make a difference.

As I've gotten older (I'm not that many months away from 60 now), I've noticed some changes. I quit carrying my wallet in my left rear pocket, because the pressure from sitting on it started causing some pains in my hip/leg on that side. When I moved my wallet to a front pocket, that went away.

Carrying a full size heavier gun, like my Colt 1991A1, while not actually causing any pain, DID start producing pressures involving my hips/spine I had never noticed when I was younger. Not painful, but could have been interpreted as precursors of things to come. So I shifted from that pistol to a lighter one and those signs disappeared.

Falling always involves a risk of injury, the extent of which obviously is based on the circumstances of the fall. Anything you carry with or on you also risks causing you injury as well. Choosing how to carry is just as important for this reason as it is for any other.
 
jar said:
One thing not mentioned except indirectly is just how violent even a low speed car crash can be. An unsecured or only poorly secured handgun can itself become a deadly missile in an accident. A handgun tucked between the seats or in a door pocket is very likely to become a projectile.
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Absolutely. I was in a very low speed accident in my mid-20s. I was slowing to a stop behind a pickup truck at a light and fell asleep at the wheel. I wasn't going "fast" at all, but the mismatch between my car and a full sized pickup truck bumper meant my car was totaled.

I was wearing my seatbelt/shoulder belt, which kept me in place, though my glasses came off and hit the windshield in front of me.

The next day I went to the Navy clinic on base to get checked out "just because". Told the Corpsman why I was there, that I had been involved in a car accident where I rear ended a pickup truck. All I had at the time was a small bruise on my right hip from the seatbelt buckle.

The Corpsman was poking me along the path of the shoulder strap and lapbelt and asked me as he passed over the ribs where the shoulder belt was: "Does this hurt?"

I said "No, it's just a little tender, that's all."

"Don't worry...it's going to get a LOT worse before it gets better."

Next day if felt like I had several broken ribs, the pain was so bad. I couldn't raise my arms above my shoulders, I couldn't carry anything significantly heavy in my arms, I couldn't breathe deeply, and running was right out the window for the combination of jarring and deep breathing, not to mention arm movements involved.

Nothing broken, just deeply bruised.

I had always worn my seatbelt in a car, but I gained a real appreciation for how bad things COULD have been without it for even the smallest of vehicle accidents. The physics of a body in motion cannot be denied.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Absolutely. I was in a very low speed accident in my mid-20s. I was slowing to a stop behind a pickup truck at a light and fell asleep at the wheel. I wasn't going "fast" at all, but the mismatch between my car and a full sized pickup truck bumper meant my car was totaled.

I was wearing my seatbelt/shoulder belt, which kept me in place, though my glasses came off and hit the windshield in front of me.

The next day I went to the Navy clinic on base to get checked out "just because". Told the Corpsman why I was there, that I had been involved in a car accident where I rear ended a pickup truck. All I had at the time was a small bruise on my right hip from the seatbelt buckle.

The Corpsman was poking me along the path of the shoulder strap and lapbelt and asked me as he passed over the ribs where the shoulder belt was: "Does this hurt?"

I said "No, it's just a little tender, that's all."

"Don't worry...it's going to get a LOT worse before it gets better."

Next day if felt like I had several broken ribs, the pain was so bad. I couldn't raise my arms above my shoulders, I couldn't carry anything significantly heavy in my arms, I couldn't breathe deeply, and running was right out the window for the combination of jarring and deep breathing, not to mention arm movements involved.

Nothing broken, just deeply bruised.

I had always worn my seatbelt in a car, but I gained a real appreciation for how bad things COULD have been without it for even the smallest of vehicle accidents. The physics of a body in motion cannot be denied.
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Folk tend to forget that a pistol sitting quietly between the seats is still moving at 22 feet a second in a 15MPH car crash and will continue moving at 22 feet a second until it hits something else.
 
I took a spill off my dirt bike a could years ago while wearing a Ruger SR40 OWB on my right side. I kind of slid down hill on a bunch of really sharp crushed rock gravel a short distance on my right side and the gun and holster took the brunt of it. I always wondered if I would have gotten rashed up on the right side of my torso if I hadn't of had the gun on me. I took a much worse spill off a buddies dirt bike this Saturday. I'm not too old for dirt bikes yet but I am getting too old to keep falling off of them.
 
Most of you may be familiar with how restrictive IL-ANNOY is when it comes to carry. We were the last state to get CC and it took a federal judge to do it 10 years ago. Forget about OC ! They also make it both expensive and difficult to apply ($150 non-refundable), take the 16 hours of classes (another $150+). As a result, I haven't bothered to try. Plus, my physique does not lend itself to IWB carry.
As for "carry", several years ago, I had a plain and simple OC rig made for me by a local gent with much greater leather-crafting skills. It is buscadero-style in that the holster hangs low on my right thigh and is tied down just above my knee and my 4" GP-100 rides comfortably with the grip just below and behind the point of my hip. I just can't wear it off-property. :fire:
 
The Night Rider said:
I also got sciatica from wearing (even though not always with a gun) duty belt for 15 years
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I can understand that! Nearly 30 years as an electrician here, and while it never did bother me, a lot of the electricians I worked with switched to double tool pouches (one on each side) and even suspenders to take the weight off their hips.
 
Had one of those .38 double derringers that looked like an H&R on steroids. It was in my pocket during an epic bicycle wreck (tried to drive a guardrail post into the ground; it's only God's mercy that saved my life). The guy who drove me to the hospital (while I bled all over his truck) was kind enough to stop by my vehicle so I could dump my gun.
I'm sure hospitals get injured patients all the time who are packing; depending on the jurisdiction, that could be a problem.
Something else to think about.
Moon
 
Kleanbore said:
Recently, three female friends of ours were involved in two serious automobile collisions that destroyed their cars. Airbags deployed, but the shoulder belts caused severe bruising and broken ribs. I do not know ifeither car was equipped with belt pre-tensioners.

It has occurred to me that if one were inan accident with a belt over a concealed handgun, the injury could be rather serious. Just a thought for discussion here.

On a related subjuect, a little over five years ago I had open heart surgery. For a peoid of time my slide-racking stenght was impaire--I could not rack the slid of my XDS 9 4.0, but I could manage with my STI Guardian .45. The problem was that the holsster I had for the .45 is a Milt Sparks IWB holster. I prefer OWB carry.

I happened to slide feet-first down a flight of stairs. The grip of the gun caught on every step, and the holstered pistol did a number on my ribs. There were no fractures, but there was severe bruising. The doctor predicted that it would hurt for a couple of months.

Sixty moths was more like it. I'm finally getting over it, after a lot of physical therapy.

I carry a Smith and Wesson EZ 9 in a Crossbreed Super Slide holster. The injury was behind 3 o'clock, so I carry in front of that. The EZ 9 is flat and light and is comfortable for concealed carry OWB. I have to be careful to not twist my back wrong.

If you can learn from this or have any comments....

For some time, I chose to not carry whan heading across the street on an icy day, to avoid the risk of falling on the gun. More recently, walking on any kind of less than ideal surface is to be avoided.

As I said, a slim semi-auto is preferable for carry for me, but I have always had a strong affinity for service-sized double action revolvers. I think the weight might cause my back problems to recur. And it occurs to me that the impact of the cylinder in a fall or collision could be an issue.

Thoughts?
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I have a shop and see and hear it all. Also shoot and know several leo. Plenty of wrecks I've seen were pretty bad. Pretension belts or not ive seen nobody harmed by their gun. Ive seen broken collar bones and noses and an orbital socket from the airbag but nobody has mentioned their gun.

I personally broke 3 ribs on a motorcycle because I crashed down onto my shoulder holster though. Had to rethink my motorcycle carry
 
.308 Norma said:
Curious - what did you decide on for motorcycle carry? :)
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Really.... still not satisfied. And I ride an adventure bike now some in the middle of nowhere sometimes so ive gravitated to my 329pd or Glock 10mm (what gun for bear? And what oil for the engine? Lol ).

Usually though I carried my Glock in my crossbreed. Not comfortable sitting but ok. Sometimes I even went with Beretta 21a in my jacket pocket but then when you get hot and put the jacket up... no gun.

I've not found the perfect setup. Back then when I broke the ribs with my galco jackass I was on an R6 so street bike and no offroad. The shoulder holster was forgettable while riding. I just got reminded when I crashed
 
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